1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices for shaping and maintaining the position of skirts and covers on seating and upholstered furniture. More specifically, the present invention relates to a device which includes an elongated band, a band adjusting member to form the band into a closed loop and to adjust the length of the closed loop, a pleating member to gather material of a throw cover, a skirt clip to connect a skirt to the elongated band and a corner fabric gathering member to gather material of a furniture cover.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The use of fabric furniture covers on upholstered furniture has long been very popular. Furniture covers vary in size from, for example, a 100" by 90" cover for chairs to a 100" by 170" cover for large sofas. Conventionally, after the furniture covers have been loosely placed on, for example, a sofa, the user will hand tuck the fabric cover into the spaces between the seat cushion and the back and between the seat cushion and the arms at each side of the seating perimeter. To maintain the proper and desired position of the furniture cover on the sofa, the present inventors have heretofore developed a stabilizing device that permits the cover to be initially tucked in place on the upholstered furniture in a desired position and thereafter prevents its relative movement with respect to the upholstered furniture during the normal use without causing damage to the furniture cover. The stabilizing device is an elongated member having a V-shaped cross-section and is disclosed in Applicants' copending application Ser. No. 08/270,057, filed on Jul. 1, 1994.
Besides maintaining the position of the furniture cover with respect to the sofa, it is also desirable to gather, shape and/or pleat the fabric of the furniture cover, especially in front of the arm sections of the sofa and at the corners of the sofa, so as to enhance the decorative appearance of the furniture. In addition, skirts of approximately 11" in height are typically sold with the furniture cover so that the elasticized skin can be placed about the base of the furniture with the bottom of the skirt falling just above the floor level.
To properly shape or form the pleats in the furniture cover, especially in front of the arms of the piece of furniture, professional decorators will spend significant time and effort to perfectly sculpt the fabric and will often use T pins, straight pins or screw pins (as shown in FIG. 24) or even staples to maintain the position of the fabric. These pins are inserted through the fabric of the cover and are anchored into the material of the sofa. Unfortunately, this method is not only quite time consuming, but also damages and will eventually destroy the material of the slip cover and the material of the furniture. The typical, non-professional user is more likely to form these pleats by simply tucking the furniture cover material behind the elasticized skirt. However, this method of shaping often results in a sloppy, disheveled appearance. Additionally, after the furniture cover has been tucked behind the skirt, problems quickly arise due to the normal movement of the person, e.g., sitting, moving about and/or getting up. This problem is especially apparent in front of the arms of the piece of furniture and near the corners, because the furniture cover becomes wrinkled, bunched up and out of place. Accordingly, to maintain the proper desired position of the furniture cover, the typical user must continuously reform the pleats, as best as he or she can, and retuck the furniture cover below the skirt.
In one embodiment of the prior art, after the pleats have been formed, an elasticized skirt is placed about the base of the piece of furniture. The skirt must be available in separate sizes for a sofa, love seat, chair and an ottoman so that it wilt have enough elasticity to be secured about the respective piece of furniture. However, especially with respect to a long sofa, the skirt has a tendency to sag over time, particularly in the front middle portion of the skirt. Unfortunately, this is the most noticeable portion of the skirt. Pins can, of course, be used to maintain the position of the skirt, but again with repeated use this risks making holes in the furniture cover and the furniture. In addition, during normal use stresses are applied to the pins causing them to loosen and eventually become dislodged. Obviously, when a pin becomes dislodged it immediately becomes a safety hazard, especially for small children and people walking near the furniture without shoes.
It is therefore an object of the present invention, to provide a device that (1) permits a cover to be decoratively shaped on a piece of furniture and (2) also permits a skirt to be attached to and draped from the base portion of the furniture, so that both the cover and the skirt, with respect to the furniture, are maintained in a stable position without damaging the cover, skirt or the furniture.
It is another object of the present invention, to provide a device that comprises a minimal number of parts which are easy to manufacture.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a device which is simple to use and safe and reliable in operation.